The Story of My Election Map

At the elections across England, Scotland and Wales in May, more than 115,000 people used a tool built by Green New Deal Rising to get involved in important local electoral races, helping turn them into the biggest electoral test of Keir Starmer's government since it came to power.

Keir Starmer’s 2024 General Election promise was one simple word — change. Change from the chaotic leadership of his Conservative predecessors. Change from the suffocating rise in the cost of living. Change from the divisive rhetoric of British politicians. Change from the crumbling public services in this country. Two years into his premiership and it is safe to say that the status quo has continued. 

Keir Starmer’s refusal to take bold, radical action has left him on the rocks. The cost of living continues to soar. The climate crisis continues to rage on. Workers are still having to choose between paying rent or food. And the richest in Britain continue to get richer.

So when the elections of a third of local councillors in England, and the parliaments in Scotland and Wales coincided in May this year, we knew this would be the moment to show that the Labour party must change course if they want to keep power. That their current approach of trying to out-Reform Reform won't work. That to win they must offer a bold, progressive alternative to Nigel Farage's hate and division - or lose out to those that will. 

The challenge was: how do we ensure Labour’s losses were significantly larger to progressive parties than to Reform.

Our answer: building My Election Map.

My Election Map was an online tool in which users could input their postcode and sign up to their nearest doorknocking, phonebanking or leafletting event. This is how we mobilised our movement and beyond in supporting progressive candidates up and down Britain. 

The strong foundation of the tool was the infrastructure powered by our movement. Our volunteer Research team did the due diligence on prospective supported candidates and collated historic election data needed to ensure we were making the biggest impact in battleground areas. Our Training team hosted weekly canvassing training so that our movement was ready to get stuck in with the events on the map. And our local teams hosted action days across Britain — creating a highly visible and energetic GNDR presence on the ground.

The reach and the impact of My Election Map was election-defining.

We hit 116,000 unique users by election day. Content related to My Election Map was seen by 7 million people across various platforms. Over 10 high-profile influencers made their own content to promote the tool — including Owen Jones, Hannah Spencer MP and Cody Dahler! 

The impact on the ground was just as huge as our impact online. Over 5000 events RSVPS; 67% of our candidates won with an average increase of vote share by 15%; and half of the candidates who filled out our feedback survey said My Election Map had boosted their campaign with new volunteers. Kiera Marshall, Member of the Senedd in Caerdydd Penarth for Plaid Cymru, said:

‘In Wales we have won an historic victory thanks to organisers like the young people from Green New Deal Rising who turned out hundreds of people to knock doors and win change. 

‘When people come together we can achieve extraordinary things, and Green New Deal Rising has proved this is possible.’ 

Zoë Garbett, Green Mayor of Hackney said:

‘Green New Deal Rising represents what it means for young people to actually get involved in democracy. 

‘I was delighted to be endorsed and supported by My Election Map. Every person’s vote matters if we are going to change this country for the better.’ 

My Election Map and our movement's organising around the May elections solidified our movement’s talent and impact as an electoral powerhouse. Our movement is energised by elections, and will show up for inspiring candidates across the country. We also showed that elections are for us. From first-time doorknockers, to canvassing leaders, to successful candidates — we showed that young people can be the change-makers. 

But the biggest lesson was that people, up and down Britain, will stand up and take action if the ask is big enough. Want to challenge the narrative that Reform UK is the dominant electoral force in Britain? Want to keep the far right out of your community? Want to upskill in persuasive conversations and join a community rooted in joy and acceptance? All these asks were posed to our movement with the work of My Election Map. The figures and quotes from above illustrate the fact that we will turn out if you give us a radical enough alternative.

As a movement, we have learned so much during these elections. We’ve also honed our electoral organising prowess and skilled up new and experienced members. We know we have the power to use electoral moments to win a better world. With that in mind, we’ll always be looking ahead to other electoral opportunities, as well as building up for the next General Election in a couple of years time. 

For now though, we're regrouping with each other to celebrate our wins and learn from our losses. We're focused on building our movement and strengthening our identity as young people who want to find a way out of the climate and inequality crises we’ve grown up with. If that describes you, sign up to a welcome call to join us!